Christian Älvestam is perhaps most well known in the metal community as the singer on SCARSYMMETRY’s first three albums and current front man in SOLUTION.45. However, his involvement with MISERATION, UNMOORED, TORCHBEARER and additional contributions of his signature vocal style as a guest in the most recent DEMONHUNTER and BLOODBATH releases have also helped Älvestam’s name become a fixture among hordes of fans. Outside of the heavy metal realm, Älvestam also garnered fandom in the house music scene through his collaboration on a single MCD with DJHENRIK B, entitled Now and Forever. The single not only received rave reviews in the electronic music scene, but also was immediately picked up by DJ Tiesto, who played it in regular rotation on his world tour to tens of thousands of people.

However, Self 2.0 is something different from what fans may expect from the singer/songwriter and it is perhaps best to let Älvestam explain:

“It’s not exactly a secret that I have a weak spot for more pop-oriented stuff – especially in the vein of the sound of the ´80′s. In fact, I have always been listening to softer music, alongside the heavier stuff, which is probably why my own music so often, unintentionally, tends to end up being a mixture of the two. I simply can’t help myself when it comes to merging the aforesaid styles together, it seems. I’d like to call it unavoidable influence, as a direct result of having been indoctrinated with both, from childhood upwards. With that said, fighting against it is not an easy thing, whether you want to or not. At the same time, some would call it a mixed blessing I guess. Anyhow, I wanted to do something a bit different from what I usually do for a long time now and that is to make an all stripped-down and laidback album, where I use my clean vocals only. Those who have followed me since the early days know I’ve made brief digressions, musically, of that sort before, like the “Final State”-trilogy (Unmoored) and “Lethean Tears” (Solution .45), to name a few, so it’s not like “Self 2.0″ is me heading out into completely unexplored territory. I’ve been there before, grubbing in its periphery. Then again, I guess you could see “Self 2.0″ as me going all the way for the first time, if you like!

What can you expect of “Self 2.0″ then, taken as a whole? Well, if you, like me, dig bands/artists such as Michael Cretu (Sandra/Enigma, etc.,) Krister Linder (Grace/Dive, etc.,) 30 Seconds To Mars, Mute Math, Nephew, Dead Letter Circus, Pendulum, Mew, The Radio Dept. and so on, chances are “Self 2.0″ may strike your fancy!”

The album was mixed and mastered by Plec and Christian Älvestam at The Panic Room.